MetaChat - The Dirty Boogie.

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28 November 2006

The Dirty Boogie. →[More:]From it's beginnings, rock and roll has been considered 'dirty' music by it's haters. Now, for the most part the dirtiness was implied and double-entendre, but there does exist a tradition of foul mouthed records sold under-the-counter (often by fairly well-known artists). With the advent of file sharing, a lot of these records are starting to surface, and they're a blast to hear (and still pretty dirty even by today's standards, so be warned).

"Shave 'Em Dry" Lucille Bogan
"B.D. Woman's Blues" Lucille Bogan

Lucille Bogan was a blues singer in style of Bessie Smith. "Shave 'Em Dry" makes pretty much anything released today seem downright demure by comparison. It floted around in unoffical versions for years before being released on the compilation Copulatin' Blues in the 1990's. The "B.D." in the other tune stands for "Bull Dyke" and adresses the subject with impressive frankness. More amazingly, that one actually got released.

"The Signifying Monkey" Johnny Otis

The meme of this song has been floating around R&B folklore for around a century and could qualify as one of the great swagger songs. Most versions that made it to shellac were pretty tame, but this one by LA blue-eyed R&B legend Johnny Otis pulls out all the stops.

"The Rotten Cocksuckers Ball" The Clovers
"Don't Fuck Around With Love" The Blenders

Doo-Wop uis often thought of as being confined to treacly declarations of teenage love but these two (fairly prominent) groups proved that the streencorner symphony could be as nasty as they wanna be.

"Think Twice" Jackie Wilson & LaVern Baker

Jackie ("Lonely Teardrops") Wilson and LaVern ("Jim Dandy") Baker rightly enjoy royalty status among R&B fans. On this profanity and drug-refrence laced number they let it all hang out. It's also a hoot to hear LaVern struggle to keep from cracking up.

"Lick It Before You Stick It" Denise LaSalle

A latter day soul belter carries on the tradition in this nice piece of raunch.

Hope you like 'em. Now go say some Hail Marys to cleanse your soul.

post by: jonmc at: 19:29 | 6 comments

You never cease to amaze me, jonmc. Are you some sort of music sleuth?

posted by redvixen 28 November | 19:35

dammit, here's the Jackie & LaVern song:

Think Twice

(and yes, redvixen, although a few holy grails still elude me, I am the Phillip Marlowe of music geeks)

posted by jonmc 28 November | 19:39

Brilliant. It's amazing how common this stuff was - I've got a double LP somewhere called Sweet Petunia, which is a pretty graphic vagina-themed pre-war blues compilation.

The lesbian thing is especially interesting - Ethel Waters was completely out, dedicating songs to her girlfriend at gigs, Alberta Hunter lived with a woman, Bessie Smith was a bit more circumspect, but hung out with a lot of out gay men, Gladys Bentley played on being a 'bulldagger', wearing top hat and tails when she performed and she 'married' a white woman, which was a wee bit controversial in the 1920s (sad end to that story, though - she ended up publically denouncing her past in the '50s and had a sham marriage to a man).

Ma Rainey wasn't exactly in the closet, either - see Prove It On Me:

They say I do; ain't nobody caught me,
Sure got to prove it on me;
Went out last night with a crowd of my friends,
They must have been women 'cause I don't like no men.

Wear my clothes just like a fan,
Talk to the gals just like any old man;
'Cause they say I do it, ain't nobody caught me,
Sure got to prove it on me.

posted by jack_mo 28 November | 22:13

Good post shitlips. Signifyin' Rapper by Schooly D (the one that jacks Kashmir and is played in Bad Lieutenant) is the best modern dozens song, imho.

posted by Divine_Wino 28 November | 23:22

I will clarify you doodoo stinkin' maggots, I mean there are millions of dis records in rap, but Signifyin' Rapper specifically takes the Signifyin' Monkey form and makes it even more crazy. God I love that nasty fuckin' song. So good...

posted by Divine_Wino 28 November | 23:24

Great post!

posted by jason's_planet 28 November | 23:55

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